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Dr Hayat Sindi, Saudi medical researcher, to be named a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador

UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova will designate Dr Hayat Sindi, Saudi medical researcher as a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador during the ceremony to be held at UNESCO HQ on Monday, 1 October 2012

Dr Hayat Sindi is a Saudi medical researcher who was born in Mecca (the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) in 1967. One of her principal achievements is the invention of a biochemical sensor with thermoelastic probes, which combines the effects of light and ultra-sound for use in biotechnology. Dr Sindi also developed the MARS (Magnetic Acoustic Resonance Sensor) in 2001, patented during her PhD work at the Institute of Biotechnology at Cambridge University. Her major projects are being carried out in partnership with the UK Universities of Exeter and Cambridge.

Dr Sindi’s primary objective and focus is to develop and deploy technology to developing areas of the world, in order to improve healthcare. To this end, in 2007 she co-founded together with Dr Georges Whitesides of Harvard University, the "Diagnostics for All" (DFA) non-profit enterprise. DFA fuses biotechnology and microfluidics, dedicated to creating low-cost, easy-to-use, point-of-care diagnostics designed specifically for the 60% of the developing world that lives beyond the reach of urban hospitals and medical infrastructures. The simple and inexpensive devices require minimal training to use, practically no sample preparation, and no electricity or additional equipment to process a sample. Results are displayed quickly in an easy-to-read format and all devices are compatible with telemedicine networks. Over the past several years, Professor George Whitesides and his team at Harvard University have pioneered the technology underlying the devices and DFA holds an exclusive worldwide license for medical and other applications. Dr Sindi also founded Sonoptix Technology, Cambridge, with Saudi Arabian seed funding, and led the development of a cost effective measurement technology for application in clinical diagnostics.